Hi David, No, I have not heard of Gil-Marchex. There's so many pianists out there to hear. Since I only hear them via CD, I tend to get exposed to less of them than 78 collectors like yourself. I do have a cool/interesting recording to share, though. Awhile back, Marston did a superb box set called A Century of Romantic Chopin, featuring many great, often rare performances by a multitude of pianists, among them Solomon. Anyway, at the end of the set they have historic recordings, some as old as 1895 by Paul Pabst. Among these recordings is a lovely, romantic performance of Chopin's Op. 27/1 Nocturne, played by none other than Bela Bartok!
Brahms, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Jiří Bělohlávek – Symphony No. 1 Label: Supraphon – 11 0394-1 031 Format: Vinyl, LP Country: Czechoslovakia Released: 1990
It's a good thing you indicated it is an LP, for I never would have known. Seriously, though, nothing like Brahms in the winter.
Not when I'm moving about or engaged in other activities other than sitting down and appreciating the logic of their progression. Mozart's approach is a far less strict adherence to form anyway so a movement that comes out of left field is, well... expected. And none of these pieces veer very far away from each other in any case.
Curious if anyone burns their classical music by combining the tracks/movements into 1 large track? I've been doing this for years either thru software like iTunes or Join Together. At first I didn't much care for it, as I wasn't familiar enough with the composition to know when the movement ended and the next began. But now I find that I like it better as I can now determine those shifts without being told by my Sony player. Plus it allows me to shuffle and it's much easier to keep track of when I store my backups online.
I do not do that, but I can certainly see the value in it. I do 99 percent of my classical listening at home.
Freed up some shelf space and upgraded the sound by switching to this from my old double fatboy Testament set. Enjoying a first spin through the set now. Compared to the Testament, this is a bit more balanced tonally, with more bass and more treble info.
I have these in original 78 RPM pressings (surprise!), and in that form the sound is very good--typical of HMV "society" recordings from that era. The sets started off as a project aimed at covering all the quartets, but what with the scope of the project and the interruption of WW II it didn't get beyond what you have here. The Pro Arte Quartet was chosen because, although not terribly familiar to most modern music lovers, in its day it was one of the world's foremost chamber groups. If memory serves, the first five volumes were "society" issues and the last three were standard commercial ones on Victor. Each had seven records and contained either three or four quartets. All that said, I really, really like these performances. The playing may not always be as "clean" as more recent sets (although it's certainly by no means in any way sloppy), but the performances have a "God is in his heaven, all's right with the world" quality about them that often is lost in more modern readings. The ensemble has a winning feel of comfortable give and take that yields dependably musical results.
Now enjoying this CD of rare recordings, which is free to subscribers of piano recordings at Marston Records. Marston | Lagniappe Volume 15 - Blanche Selva
I just finished a first pass through the set. I did enjoy it, but if I am being honest the Festetics set is more to my taste. Sure, the sound is much, much better and they play all of the quartets (as you know, the Hungarians do not), but I found their playing to be more instantly enjoyable. For what it's worth, I feel that all good Haydn recordings convey that "all is right with the world" quality you mentioned above and the Festetics's Haydn is no exception. This conversation calls to mind another composer and another historic recording. I have owned the Busch Beethoven QT recordings for years and although people rave about them, and despite trying numerous times to "get" them, I much, much prefer (each for different reasons) the recordings of Vegh (stereo), Quartetto Italiano and Julliard QT for the Beethoven quartets.
I have been meaning to check out the Hungarian set. For 29 quartets it is a steal! At the end of the day did you feel it was still worthwhile, even though they are not your favorite readings? For Haydn I find I prefer the Mosaiques to the Festetics. Have you heard this set? It's another historical one I want to check out: FWIW my current top three Beethoven qtts are: 1. Quatuor Pascal 2. Guarneri Quartet (RCA) 3. Alexander Quartet (Arte Nova) I have not spent much time with any of those three sets you mentioned but they are on my ever-growing list. The Quatuor Mosaiques will be up there as well if they ever record the middle quartets.
I can't speak for the versions above but I saw Storgards conduct the Boston SO on Saturday doing Sibelius 6 & 7. The 6th is one of my favorite works in all of classical music and for me the Vanska/Lahti version was the benchmark (not a big fan of his Minnesota version). I also like the Blomstedt SFSO and Sir Alexander Gibson Scottish versions. But Finnish Storgards almost Mahlerian illumination of the architecture was a revelation not to mention ideal phrasing and pace. I believe this was broadcast and will be replayed on 2/3 on the Boston classical station which can also be heard online.
This set is my “desert island” set of Shosty quartets. I have the box issued on CD by BMG Classics/Melodiya.
These are excellent performances. Also worth seeking out( on LP) are the Beethoven Quartet earlier performances.
BMG/Melodiya box is the second quartet with violinists Andre Abramenkov and Mikhail Kopelman. It also has the Op. 57 String Quintet with Richter. Do you guys have any "off the beaten path" (less popular) favorites of the Beethoven Ghost and Archduke trios?
Don't know that it's exactly "less popular," but my favorite "Archduke" has long been the Heifetz/Feuermann/Rubinstein account from 1941. Just within the last couple of weeks, however, I did a transfer of another, recorded two years later, that comes close: Henry Holst/Anthony Pini/Solomon. It doesn't pack quite the "punch" at certain key moments, but it's still a lovely performance in every way. The benchmark is supposed to be Thibaud/Casals/Cortot from 1928, and that set is on my list to revisit soon, as it's been many years since I last played it. I haven't formed as strong an attachment to any single account of the "Ghost," but you probably won't go far wrong with the 1947 Busch-Serkin Trio account, originally on Columbia.
I guess, as a historical view, to get to hear this music played in a very different style, yes. Will I return to it often, like I do with Cortot or Moiseiwitsch's recordings? No way. I have yet to compare the two, but Festetics has the huge advantage of being complete. I've always been a sucker for complete sets, something that has made being a fan of Sviatoslav Richter a challenge, to say the least. I have not heard that set, no. With the Festetics, Mosaiques and Pro Arte sets, I feel I am well covered. I had a CD from that Alexander set years ago. I enjoyed it, but it didn't make the cut when I downsized before a move. I later picked up, for a recording in modern sound that was highly rated by some, this set: I was going to cull it about a year ago, but after sampling a few discs, it quickly went back on the shelf. Man, the competition is tough in these works, so many great recordings to choose from. I also have the Alban Berg EMI set on my phone. Can't get enough of Beethoven.
For a set in modern sound, Danel is great. And it was recently reissued in a budget box. My (original) set is on the right: